Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Oct 8;40(2):04.
doi: 10.35946/arcr.v40.2.04. eCollection 2020.

Sex Differences in the Neurobiology of Alcohol Use Disorder

Annabelle Flores-Bonilla  1 , Heather N Richardson  2
Affiliations
Review

Sex Differences in the Neurobiology of Alcohol Use Disorder

Annabelle Flores-Bonilla et al. Alcohol Res. .

Abstract

Sex differences may play a critical role in modulating how chronic or heavy alcohol use impacts the brain to cause the development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). AUD is a multifaceted and complex disorder driven by changes in key neurobiological structures that regulate executive function, memory, and stress. A three-stage framework of addiction (binge/intoxication; withdrawal/negative affect; preoccupation/anticipation) has been useful for conceptualizing the complexities of AUD and other addictions. Initially, alcohol drinking causes short-term effects that involve signaling mediated by several neurotransmitter systems such as dopamine, corticotropin releasing factor, and glutamate. With continued intoxication, alcohol leads to dysfunctional behaviors that are thought to be due in part to alterations of these and other neurotransmitter systems, along with alterations in neural pathways connecting prefrontal and limbic structures. Using the three-stage framework, this review highlights examples of research examining sex differences in drinking and differential modulation of neural systems contributing to the development of AUD. New insights addressing the role of sex differences in AUD are advancing the field forward by uncovering the complex interactions that mediate vulnerability.

Keywords: adolescence; alcohol; alcohol use disorder; animal models; brain; sex differences; stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Financial Disclosures The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sex differences in the effects of alcohol on the interacting brain systems associated with the three stages of addiction. Note: BLA, basolateral amygdala; BNST, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis; CeA, central amygdala; CRF-R1, corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1; GABAA receptors, gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptors; GR, glucocorticoid receptors; mPFC, medial prefrontal cortex; mRNA, messenger RNA; NAc, nucleus accumbens; PFC, prefrontal cortex; VTA, ventral tegmental area. Created with BioRender.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Alcohol-Related Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations and Their Co-Occurring Drug-Related, Mental Health, and Injury Conditions in the United States. Findings From the 2006–2010 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) and Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) Alcohol Epidemiologic Data Reference Manual. 2013 September;9 NIH Publication No. 13-8000. https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/manual.htm.
    1. Grant BF, Goldstein RB, Saha TD, et al. Epidemiology of DSM-5 alcohol use disorder results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(8):757–766. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0584. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Washington, DC: APA; 2013. - DOI
    1. Volkow ND, Koob GF, McLellan AT. Neurobiologic advances from the brain disease model of addiction. N Engl J Med. 2016;374(4):363–371. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1511480. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Becker JB, Perry AN, Westenbroek C. Sex differences in the neural mechanisms mediating addiction: A new synthesis and hypothesis. Biol Sex Differ. 2012;3(1):1–35. doi: 10.1186/2042-6410-3-14. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types